In the near term, I believe that IBM would continue support for all of Sun’s current server platforms. The key to getting the most out of an acquisition like this is retaining customer good will and preserving Sun’s revenue stream.

On the Unix side, I believe that the Niagara-based systems stand the best chance of being developed further in a combined IBM/Sun company. Those systems are unique and have a value proposition that isn’t duplicated by existing IBM systems. I see Sun’s standard SPARC-based platforms gradually being subsumed into IBM’s POWER-based gear. To do this, and to preserve Sun’s customer base, we’re talking about a blending of Solaris and AIX into a common code base. This would take quite a bit of work, but it’s certainly possible.

On the x86 side of Sun’s server business, I can see IBM keeping some of Sun’s more unique offerings – the Thumper storage/server line, for example. The key will be to hold onto the best products from each company, and I can see IBM taking a rational approach to this and not making any hasty moves.

In my opinion, it’s in the area of storage where the deal may run into regulatory problems. Combining Sun’s StorageTek holdings with IBM’s considerable tape offerings gives the firm a huge market share and control over much of the tape technology. This may not pass muster with the FCC. Other than that, I can see IBM continuing with Sun’s low-cost ‘open source’ storage line and using it as a weapon primarily against EMC. I can also see them keeping and developing some of Sun’s more exotic storage technologies, like the massive Hydra infiniband switch that is currently being used in huge HPC installations. But much of Sun’s conventional storage product line is duplicated by current IBM offerings; these would certainly go away over time or be blended into IBM’s product line.